Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026

GPT-5.6 Terra vs Qwen 3 Max benchmark

Name: GPT-5.6 Terra vs Qwen 3 Max AI benchmark comparison
Creator: CompareLLM
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This page compares GPT-5.6 Terra (OpenAI) and Qwen 3 Max (Alibaba) using the latest snapshots we have as of Aug 16, 2026. On preference Elo, GPT-5.6 Terra is ahead by 30 points (1,548 vs 1,518; seed-bootstrap (Aug 16, 2026)). On SWE-bench coding, GPT-5.6 Terra resolves 70.4% versus 67.8% (seed-bootstrap (Aug 16, 2026)). GPT-5.6 Terra streams faster (128 tok/s) while Qwen 3 Max is the cheaper output token ($3.9/1M). GPT-5.6 Terra has the larger context window (1.1M tokens). Every cell below is a dated snapshot from a named public source — we do not invent missing scores, and we do not run SWE-bench ourselves.

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OpenAI

GPT-5.6 Terra

OpenAI 5.6 mid tier. Official API $2/$12 per 1M after the Jul 30 2026 price cut.

Elo 1,548$6/1M out

Alibaba

Qwen 3 Max

Alibaba flagship. Strong math and multilingual code.

Elo 1,518$3.9/1M out

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Quick vs:vs Claude Opus 4.5 vs Claude Opus 4.6 vs Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Claude 3.7 Sonnet

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Matchup Breakdown

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Category wins across intelligence, speed, and pricing efficiency.

GPT-5.6 Terra (6)vsQwen 3 Max (4)

GPT-5.6 Terra: 6W (60%)Overall: GPT-5.6 TerraQwen 3 Max: 4W (40%)

← GPT-5.6 TerraQwen 3 Max →

GPT-5.6 Terra (3/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy

Preference Elo

1,548vs1,518

Coding Elo

1,542vs1,526

SWE-bench

70.4%vs67.8%

LiveBench

69.1%vs69.4%

GPQA Diamond

82%vs83.1%

GPT-5.6 Terra: 3WQwen 3 Max: 2W

GPT-5.6 Terra (2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Output speed

128 tok/svs80 tok/s

Time to first token

160 msvs280 ms

GPT-5.6 Terra: 2WQwen 3 Max: 0W

Qwen 3 Max (2/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Output price

$6/1Mvs$3.9/1M

Input price

$1/1Mvs$0.78/1M

Context window

1.1Mvs262k

GPT-5.6 Terra: 1WQwen 3 Max: 2W

Capability Matchup Radar

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

Each spoke is a skill. Farther from the center is better (0–100th percentile). Tap any dot to inspect details.

Tap any node to inspect

Percentile 0–100

Dimensional AdvantageGPT-5.6 Terra 4/6

Preference Elo

GPT-5.6 Terra

30 pts advantage

Throughput Speed

GPT-5.6 Terra

48 tok/s faster

Price Efficiency

Qwen 3 Max

$2.10/1M cheaper

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

—

Elo

High is better

+2%1,548

EloHigh is better

1,518

Code Elo

High is better

+1%1,542

Code EloHigh is better

1,526

LiveBench

High is better

69.1%

LiveBenchHigh is better

69.4%

SWE-bench

High is better

+4%70.4%

SWE-benchHigh is better

67.8%

GPQA

High is better

82%

GPQAHigh is better

83.1%+1%

TTFT

Low is better

+75%160 ms

TTFTLow is better

280 ms

Speed

High is better

+60%128 tok/s

SpeedHigh is better

80 tok/s

In $

Low is better

$1/1M

In $Low is better

$0.78/1M+28%

Out $

Low is better

$6/1M

Out $Low is better

$3.9/1M+54%

Context

High is better

+301%1.1M

ContextHigh is better

262k

Interactive Simulator

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Simulate monthly production API costs based on published $/1M tokens.

Save up to 31% with Qwen 3 Max

Monthly Volume50M tokens/mo

Quick Presets:

Token Ratio (In vs Out)70% In / 30% Out

RAG / Search (10% out)Coding / Chat (50% out)

GPT-5.6 Terra$125.00 / mo

In: $35.00Out: $90.00

Qwen 3 Max$85.80 / mo

In: $27.30Out: $58.50

Estimated Cost Delta

Qwen 3 Max is estimated to save $39.20/month ($470/year).

Based on 50M tokens (30% gen)

Key Selection Recommendations

1
GPT-5.6 Terra:Pick GPT-5.6 Terra when repo-level coding accuracy is the constraint.
2
Qwen 3 Max:Pick Qwen 3 Max when you are optimizing output cost.
3
GPT-5.6 Terra:Pick GPT-5.6 Terra when time-to-first-token matters more than peak Elo.

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsGPT-5.6 Terra

Higher SWE-bench (70.4%).

High-volume chatQwen 3 Max

Lower output list price ($3.9/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIGPT-5.6 Terra

Lower TTFT (160 ms).

Long-document RAGGPT-5.6 Terra

Larger window (1.1M).

Screenshots / visionGPT-5.6 Terra

Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (GPT-5.6 Terra).

Target Workload	Recommended Pick	Evaluation Rationale
Repo / coding agents	GPT-5.6 Terra	Higher SWE-bench (70.4%).
High-volume chat	Qwen 3 Max	Lower output list price ($3.9/1M).
Voice / low-latency UI	GPT-5.6 Terra	Lower TTFT (160 ms).
Long-document RAG	GPT-5.6 Terra	Larger window (1.1M).
Screenshots / vision	GPT-5.6 Terra	Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (GPT-5.6 Terra).

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

View all news

priceJul 30, 2026

GPT-5.6 Terra after the Jul 30 cut: $2/$12 mid-tier

Terra is OpenAI’s Sonnet-class invoice. Use it when Sol is too expensive and Luna is too small.

launchApr 18, 2026

Qwen 3 Max: Alibaba’s flagship for math and multilingual code

Closed flagship. Strong math. Compare to Sol and Opus on GPQA and SWE-bench, not on brand heat.

launchSep 20, 2025

Qwen3 235B: the open MoE Qwen, not the Max SKU

Sep 2025 open-weight mixture-of-experts. Self-host path. Don’t confuse it with Qwen 3 Max.

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LIVE

OpenAI

GPT-5.6 Terra

Elo 1,548

LiveBench69.1%

SWE-bench70.4%

Speed128 tok/s

Output cost$6/1M

Alibaba

Qwen 3 Max

Elo 1,518

LiveBench69.4%

SWE-bench67.8%

Speed80 tok/s

Output cost$3.9/1M

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, GPT-5.6 Terra or Qwen 3 Max?: GPT-5.6 Terra has the higher preference Elo in our latest snapshot (1,548). “Better” still depends on coding, price, and latency — see the table.
Which is better at coding, GPT-5.6 Terra or Qwen 3 Max?: GPT-5.6 Terra leads SWE-bench at 70.4% vs 67.8%. SWE-bench is one harness, not your repo.
Which is cheaper to run in production?: Qwen 3 Max output tokens are $3.9/1M versus $6/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.
Which is faster, GPT-5.6 Terra or Qwen 3 Max?: GPT-5.6 Terra has the lower time-to-first-token (160 ms vs 280 ms). Tokens/sec is a separate column if you care about long completions.
Which has the larger context window?: GPT-5.6 Terra accepts 1.1M tokens versus 262k.
Can I self-host either model?: Neither model is marked open-weights here. You are comparing hosted APIs.
Are these scores from CompareLLM’s own evals?: No. V1 aggregates public leaderboards (and optional first-party latency pings). Each cell names its source and date. Read /methodology.
What does preference Elo mean on this page?: Preference Elo is a crowd vote from LMArena / Arena. People see two hidden answers and pick the one they like more. The model that wins more often gets a higher Elo. That means people preferred it — not that it passed a school test. It is not SWE-bench, not accuracy, and not a number we invent. GPT-5.6 Terra and Qwen 3 Max Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

All GPT-5.6 Terra matchups →|All Qwen 3 Max matchups →

Qwen 3 Max vs Qwen QwQ 32B (previous qwen)Qwen 3 Max vs Qwen3.8 27B (next qwen)GPT-4.5 Orion vs GPT-5.6 Terra GPT-5 vs GPT-5.6 Terra GPT-5.6 Sol vs GPT-5.6 Terra OpenAI: o3 Mini vs GPT-5.6 Terra

GPT-5.6 Terra vs Qwen 3 Max benchmark

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Matchup Breakdown

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Category wins across intelligence, speed, and pricing efficiency.

GPT-5.6 Terra (6)vsQwen 3 Max (4)

GPT-5.6 Terra: 6W (60%)Overall: GPT-5.6 TerraQwen 3 Max: 4W (40%)

← GPT-5.6 TerraQwen 3 Max →

GPT-5.6 Terra (3/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy

Preference Elo

1,548vs1,518

Coding Elo

1,542vs1,526

SWE-bench

70.4%vs67.8%

LiveBench

69.1%vs69.4%

GPQA Diamond

82%vs83.1%

GPT-5.6 Terra: 3WQwen 3 Max: 2W

GPT-5.6 Terra (2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Output speed

128 tok/svs80 tok/s

Time to first token

160 msvs280 ms

GPT-5.6 Terra: 2WQwen 3 Max: 0W

Qwen 3 Max (2/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Output price

$6/1Mvs$3.9/1M

Input price

$1/1Mvs$0.78/1M

Context window

1.1Mvs262k

GPT-5.6 Terra: 1WQwen 3 Max: 2W

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsGPT-5.6 Terra

Higher SWE-bench (70.4%).

High-volume chatQwen 3 Max

Lower output list price ($3.9/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIGPT-5.6 Terra

Lower TTFT (160 ms).

Long-document RAGGPT-5.6 Terra

Larger window (1.1M).

Screenshots / visionGPT-5.6 Terra

Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (GPT-5.6 Terra).

Target Workload	Recommended Pick	Evaluation Rationale
Repo / coding agents	GPT-5.6 Terra	Higher SWE-bench (70.4%).
High-volume chat	Qwen 3 Max	Lower output list price ($3.9/1M).
Voice / low-latency UI	GPT-5.6 Terra	Lower TTFT (160 ms).
Long-document RAG	GPT-5.6 Terra	Larger window (1.1M).
Screenshots / vision	GPT-5.6 Terra	Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (GPT-5.6 Terra).

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, GPT-5.6 Terra or Qwen 3 Max?

GPT-5.6 Terra has the higher preference Elo in our latest snapshot (1,548). “Better” still depends on coding, price, and latency — see the table.

Which is better at coding, GPT-5.6 Terra or Qwen 3 Max?

GPT-5.6 Terra leads SWE-bench at 70.4% vs 67.8%. SWE-bench is one harness, not your repo.

Which is cheaper to run in production?

Qwen 3 Max output tokens are $3.9/1M versus $6/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.

Which is faster, GPT-5.6 Terra or Qwen 3 Max?

GPT-5.6 Terra has the lower time-to-first-token (160 ms vs 280 ms). Tokens/sec is a separate column if you care about long completions.

Which has the larger context window?

GPT-5.6 Terra accepts 1.1M tokens versus 262k.

Can I self-host either model?

Neither model is marked open-weights here. You are comparing hosted APIs.

Are these scores from CompareLLM’s own evals?

No. V1 aggregates public leaderboards (and optional first-party latency pings). Each cell names its source and date. Read /methodology.

What does preference Elo mean on this page?

Preference Elo is a crowd vote from LMArena / Arena. People see two hidden answers and pick the one they like more. The model that wins more often gets a higher Elo. That means people preferred it — not that it passed a school test. It is not SWE-bench, not accuracy, and not a number we invent. GPT-5.6 Terra and Qwen 3 Max Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Swap or Add Any Model to this Matchup

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Intelligence & Reasoning

Speed & Latency

Pricing & Capacity

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

GPT-5.6 Terra

GPT-5.6 Terra

Qwen 3 Max

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Key Selection Recommendations

Recommended Workload Routing

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

GPT-5.6 Terra after the Jul 30 cut: $2/$12 mid-tier

Qwen 3 Max: Alibaba’s flagship for math and multilingual code

Qwen3 235B: the open MoE Qwen, not the Max SKU

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CompareLLM Matrix

GPT-5.6 Terra

Qwen 3 Max

Frequently Asked Questions

Related news

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

Swap or Add Any Model to this Matchup

Interactive Comparison Diagram

Tug-of-War Matchup Matrix

Intelligence & Reasoning

Speed & Latency

Pricing & Capacity

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

GPT-5.6 Terra

GPT-5.6 Terra

Qwen 3 Max

Full Benchmark Score Matrix

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Key Selection Recommendations

Recommended Workload Routing

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

GPT-5.6 Terra after the Jul 30 cut: $2/$12 mid-tier

Qwen 3 Max: Alibaba’s flagship for math and multilingual code

Qwen3 235B: the open MoE Qwen, not the Max SKU

Cast Your Matchup Vote

Community Discussions (0)

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CompareLLM Matrix

GPT-5.6 Terra

Qwen 3 Max

Frequently Asked Questions

Related news

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons